But how long before Roy finally decides the time is right to be an NHL coach and replaces Sacco? Six months? One year? Maybe two seasons?

Standing tall, Sacco absorbed the hit, deflecting my serious doubts he is long for this job in Colorado with the same toughness shown during his 13-year career as an NHL player.

With a square jaw, Sacco leaned into the odds stacked against his success, offering me his best look of authority less than 45 minutes after officially being given the thankless task of acting as the new hand puppet for team president Pierre Lacroix, the great- and-powerful man behind the curtain, still pulling all the major strings for the Avalanche.

We all know Lacroix wanted Roy to be the new coach, the new face and the new hope for a proud hockey franchise that has badly lost its way and failed to keep up with the increasingly furious pace of play and the rapidly changing economic climate in the NHL.

"Obviously, Patrick would have been a great choice (as coach).

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Whether I was the second choice or the 10th choice, that doesn't matter to me," insisted Sacco, a 40-year-old hockey lifer who comes to town from the Lake Erie Monsters, full of the same energy and optimism that was the trademark of his predecessor, Tony Granato.

And how did it work out for Granato?

"Kiz, guess what day it is," Granato declared from the other end of a cellphone connection on Wednesday, barely 24 hours before his old position was assumed by Sacco. Granato called ASAP after his dismissal, cheerfully fulfilling a promise offered weeks ago to me, when the flirty Avs were making goo-goo eyes at Roy, despite the fact the team already had a coach under contract.

It was a bush-league move by a classy organization.

Or, as Granato diplomatically put it: "It was a not-so-friendly part of the business, and it's tough on family and friends who care about you. But either you let it bother you so much that you get out of the business, or you go on. And I love this game too much to get out of it."

So let this be a reminder to Sacco. There are no rules protecting an NHL coach from roughing, tripping or spearing. His name on the parking place at the Pepsi Center should be written in chalk. When the team's 2009 media guide is released, it would be fitting if the pages detailing the biography of Sacco were perforated for quick, easy removal.

Sorry, but it feels as if this guy is being set up to absorb the next 30, 50 or 75 defeats for a franchise in full-scale, dust-flying, contract-dumping, say au revoir to Ian Laperriere rebuilding mode, only to be replaced by Roy when the Avalanche is closer to being a consistent winner again.

The NHL is a heartless meat grinder for coaches.

Is Sacco the next one to be chewed up and spit out?

"I can't worry about those things. I'm here to help this team grow and become a contender again," Sacco said. "I'm going to certainly give my best effort."

Roll-up-the-sleeves commitment from your coach is nice. Of course, having a goaltender capable of standing on his head would be better. So here's hoping that 24-year-old Swedish netminding sensation Jonas Gustavsson is equal to the hype, and he signs a contract with Colorado rather than Toronto, Dallas or San Jose.

While the Avs must score big in the upcoming NHL draft, landing Gustavsson would be the first real big competency test for new general manager Greg Sherman (Cherry Creek High School, Class of 1988) and vice president of hockey operations Craig Billington, who proudly admits he owes his employment in an NHL front office to the 60-year-old Lacroix.

Lacroix, who faces a lengthy rehabilitation after a major health scare from complications arising from recent knee replacement surgery, is not involved in the day-to-day hockey decisions of the Avalanche, Sherman said.

Make no mistake, though. Lacroix remains the puppet master.

I asked Sherman and Billington their participation in the recent courtship of Roy.

Nothing of consequence, they replied.

Hmm. The one man who knows all and sees all for the Avalanche is La- croix.

"I don't know if you cannot help but feel his eyes on you," Billington said.

Hey, Coach Sacco, not to put any pressure on you, but:

Every line you juggle, every goalie you yank, every breath you take and every move you make, Lacroix will be watching you.

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